Here at Paper Bag Co we love coming up with new ideas of how to reuse paper bags to help with household activities. We have focused on the kitchen with these four great tips for making the most of your spare paper bags.

1. Storing vegetables

Paper bags are the best storage choice for vegetables such as mushrooms, as they absorb excess moisture rather than encouraging it as plastic produce bags can do. Potatoes and onions also benefit from being stored in paper bags, to keep them dry and wrapped up in your kitchen cupboards.

2. Ripen fruit

Got some green bananas that you need to use for a recipe? Placing fruit in a paper bag will help certain fruits such as bananas, avocados, pears, kiwis, and mango to ripen much quicker than usual. The reason for this is that fruit naturally produces ethylene gas, which encourages ripening. By placing fruit in a paper bag the ethylene collects and becomes much more concentrated, which speeds up the ripening process. Paper bags are especially suitable for this as they are not air tight so moisture does not become trapped, unlike in sealed plastic bags which can cause the fruit to become mouldy.

3. Collect compost

Plain paper bags are great to have on hand to collect compost in the kitchen. Keep a paper bag on the kitchen counter, ready to round up compost materials for the garden throughout the day. You can even peel vegetables directly over the bag to save time, helping to make the process of composting as fuss free as possible.

4. Microwave popcorn

Save money on movie night with homemade popcorn- all you need is a plain paper bag and some popcorn kernels. Pour the kernels into the paper bag, add your preferred toppings, and give the bag a good shake to mix it all together. Fold the top of the bag over several times, then stand it upright in the microwave. Put the microwave on for approximately two minutes, or until the popping slows down to one or two pops per second. The best thing about this method is that you can add any flavouring you like to the popcorn- from the standard sugar or salt, to tasty cinnamon or chilli.

There are so many ways to reuse paper bags, we hope these suggestions have inspired you.